“EMR” vs. “EHR”… what’s the difference?

Electronic Health Records and Electronic Medical Records are used across the healthcare IT industry seemingly without much differentiation in meaning. However, they do have their own definitions

According to Wikipedia, “The terms EHR, EPR (electronic patient record) and EMR (electronic medical record) are often used interchangeably, although differences between them can be defined. The EMR can, for example, be defined as the patient record created in hospitals and ambulatory environments, and which can serve as a data source for the EHR.It is important to note that an EHR is generated and maintained within an institution, such as a hospital, integrated delivery network, clinic, or physician office, to give patients, physicians and other health care providers, employers, and payers or insurers access to a patient’s medical records across facilities.

“A personal health record (PHR) is, in modern parlance, generally defined as an EHR that the individual patient controls.”

Nearly all organizations across the healthcare industry recognize the interchangeable use of these terms, using the term they most prefer.